Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: February 13, 1997
• Invested on: June 16, 1997

On June 1, 1996, off-duty firefighter John Timpson saved an elderly woman from her burning home in Stittsville, Ontario. Mr. Timpson was cycling by when smoke alerted him to the fire. He ran to the back of the house to find the deck and the outside wall engulfed in flames. Aware of the dangers of entering the unknown surroundings of a smoke-filled building without protective clothing or breathing apparatus, Mr. Timpson rushed in by the front door when a young child screamed that her grandmother was still inside. The intense heat and smoke forced him out. Undeterred, he re-entered the home and crawled seven metres until he found the woman on the floor of a back room, unable to get up because of a disability. He held her under the arms and dragged her out to safety just as the firefighters arrived. Still without proper gear, Mr. Timpson then joined his colleagues and helped combat the fire.